Typically when I review a store that is producing above average results in most categories such as increased sales, improved customer satisfaction scores and overall profitability, I generally find a common thread. The customer facing positions and the critical performance positions have had zero to very little turn over in the last year. We all have been faced with an employee that is leaving that is beyond our control and now it is more likely for an employee to change employment simply to change things up and try something new.

Generally speaking if your employee is already thinking about leaving it is too late to try and convince them otherwise and to take it a step further, if you look back at their performance over the past thirty to sixty days you should have seen the writing on the wall.

Managers today are faced with a harder challenge of keeping employees engaged and plugged in.

Here are a few, not all, ideas that should be the foundation of building a winning working environment that helps you create long-term employee tenure.

Value and Appreciated - This goes way beyond the occasional “atta boy” or month end review that comes with high marks. Although those are very much needed in addition there needs to be social praise in front of the right crowd. Employees’ today need a daily confirmation of what they are doing matters. Managers that can do this without effort are the ones that in a simple daily conversation have the employee walking away feeling valued by the way they have structured the conversation.

Trusted and Empowered – Many employees, by their very nature, are risk adverse. That’s why they are employees and not entrepreneurs. This is why you need to encourage safe failure and encourage them to make the hard decision needed. In addition to this encourage continuous training and self-improvement. A well-informed and trained employee will feel more comfortable to make the hard call.

Motivated and Challenged – This one starts by saying you need to hire the right person that likes to accept challenges and is motivated by finishing tasks or this type of pressure will be to daunting. Challenging employees starts by understanding the different factors that influence each individual’s workday. Once you have that down, you can be the boss who challenges everyone without stressing out anyone. Constant feedback to the employee is a must, positive or negative. Positive feedback is simple and easy to deliver. Negative feedback has to be in the form of constructive criticism and encourage the steps that will improve the result.

As I mentioned before these are only a few suggestions of areas to directly focus on when building a winning team. Look for future articles with additional strategies.